The present invention relates to an in-line skate.
Conventional in-line skates comprise a support for a shoe and rigid wings or tabs associated with the support and between which aligned wheels are pivoted. The use of these skates is increasingly specifically orientated towards speed skating, hockey, slalom, or long-distance skating such as marathons.
Specifically for hockey or slalom, the athlete changes skating direction by means of a short stroke with frequent lateral thrusts of the foot, which are transmitted directly to the skate. Quick increases in speed are also frequent and can be obtained by again exerting strong lateral thrusts at a high rate and with a short stroke.
The drawback that can be observed in these conventional skates is the difficulty in customizing the skate according to the extent of these thrusts, to the length of the stroke, and to the physical characteristics of the skater.
This customization also has the drawback that it requires different characteristics for engaging in long-distance speed competitions instead of hockey or slalom: in this case lateral thrusts are less frequent and the stroke is longer because the track does not require sudden direction changes and because the increase in speed does not have to compensate for the sharp braking performed during hockey or slalom.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,058,324 discloses a roller skate in which a support is associated below the shoe. The support is in turn associable with the wheel supporting frame, and there are means to allow a longitudinal movement of the support with respect to the frame, as well as means to allow the longitudinal movement of the intermediate wheel with respect to the outer wheel.
The support also has transverse slots which act as seats for screws that allow to lock the sole of the shoe.
This solution is specifically provided to allow to change the mutual axial alignment of the individual wheels with respect to the frame to which they are pivoted, and therefore it is not specifically suitable for solving the above mentioned drawbacks.
The solution is also structurally very complicated, with adjustments that require a long time and special tools.
In any case, the transmission of efforts from the shoe to the frame must occur by means of the screws that fix the sole to the support and by means of the screws that connect the support to the frame; on one hand this may allow displacements with respect to the selected adjustment, caused by the considerable stresses applied during the lateral movement of the skate when speed is being increased, with the consequent forming of possible plays, and on the other hand this provides incomplete and non-optimum transmission of efforts from the foot to the wheels.
Moreover, the cost of this solution is high.